Awards show Australians embrace multiculturalism

A GROUP of committed organisations and individuals have been honoured in The 2014 Migration and Settlement Awards, presented in Canberra on Wednesday.

Lifetime Achievement Awardee, Joseph Assaf

The multinational hotel group, Accor, Netball in Australia and the Family Court are among the winners of the nation’s top migration awards.

A case worker helping victims of slavery and a man who pioneered communicating with culturally diverse communities were also honoured in the awards ceremony held, by the Migration Council of Australia at Parliament house in Canberra yesterday, Wednesday, March 26.

The chief executive of the MCA, Carla Wilshire, said that in her view, the quality of the winners and the strength of the list of finalists showed that Australians were “increasingly embracing multiculturalism in recognising the importance and value of migration.” She cited the quality and reach of the shortlisted finalists across both geographical and industry sectors, suggesting that diversity too is becoming more relevant to individuals and organisations in Australia.

— The Settlement Innovation Award went toWelcome to Australia for the “Walk Together” program.

— The Caseworker of the Year Award went to Sarah Boyle for her work with the Salvation Army’s “Safe House for Trafficked Persons.”

— The business inclusion award went to ACCOR Hotels for recruiting and training refugees.

— The Sports Leadership Award went to Netball in Australia for implementing a whole-of-sport approach, to create fair, safe and inclusive environments catering for the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

— The Journalism Excellence Award went to Leanne Edmistone.

— The Diversity and the Law Award went to the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court for the Multicultural Action Plan.

— Finally, the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Mr Joseph Assaf for helping new migrants through the establishment of ethnic media publications and for raising awareness of the contribution of migrants through the ethnic business awards.